A Liverpool Cathedral community scheme to support unemployed people in the city has successfully managed to get more than 50 people back to work.
The Volition programme at Liverpool Metropolitan Cathedral supports unemployed people from the region, providing them with volunteering opportunities, training and vital employment support, with partners for the scheme including the University of Liverpool, City of Liverpool College, LFC Tours and Cavern Walks.
Volunteers are recruited for a period of six months, with their progress then tracked for a further six months. Support for participants is essential, and it is provided in abundance.
Following the huge success of a similar scheme at Manchester Cathedral, which got around 100 people into employment within three years, the Liverpool programme- the second in the country to support the Volition scheme- managed to hit their halfway target in just 15 months.
On the programmes success, Paul O’Brien, Volunteer and Employment Co-ordinator at Liverpool Cathedral, said: “We set ourselves a target of working with 72 people a year, and we have already exceeded that – in a year and a quarter we have worked with 144 people and helped 50 of them to find employment.”
“At the same time we bring a sharp focus to their employability and skills needs, and create a structured pathway to support them back to work.
“We also give our volunteers access to five qualifications, in Food Hygiene, Manual Handling, Emergency First Aid, Health & Safety, and Employability. Our volunteers have now completed 158 qualifications.”
Mr O’Brien also noted the Cathedral’s unique place at the heart of the community was a defining factor in the scheme’s resounding success.
He added: “By making the most of the iconic position of the Cathedral as a civic leader in the city we are uniquely placed to create opportunities for jobs and skills development.
“Business leaders are only too happy to volunteer their time if we make it easy to do so, and volunteers are contributing to their community and improving their own chances of employment longer term.
“Volunteering can play a bigger role in tackling poverty, social exclusion and ultimately reduce unemployment in our city.”